UPDATE - GPD: No "cover-up" in Blue House case

Pacific Daily News file photo
Trafficking: Police secure the Blue House karaoke lounge in this 2008 photograph. Since the investigation, the lounge's owner has been convicted of 20 federal crimes related to human trafficking and now faces life in prison. None of the police officers who frequented the bar and whose alleged friendship with the bar owner allegedly was used to intimidate women forced to work as prostitutes in the bar, have been arrested or charged in court.

The Guam Police Department has released a statement insisting there was no cover-up of police officers allegedly involved in the Blue House brothel.

In the statement, police spokesman Officer A.J. Balajadia said local residents should not interpret police silence as evidence of wrongdoing.

"It is easy to come to conclusions when the police department stays silent regarding investigations; this is our primary stance in order not to compromise any ongoing investigation and/or trial," Balajadia said. "At this point in time the U.S. Attorney has not charged/indicted any officers with regard to this trial. Some in the media may give the impression of a cover-up, which is not the case."

Balajadia has previously said the Blue House investigation is over. The Blue House trial ended in 2011.

Blue House was a brothel that operated in Tamuning from 2004 to 2008. At least nine immigrant women were forced into prostitution at the lounge.

Song Ja Cha, the Blue House owner, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.

During Cha's trial, allegations arose that the brothel owner used police to help control her victims. Department of Justice trial attorney Jared Fishman said the officers frequented the Blue House, and that Cha called them "friends."

A Blue House supervisor, Freda Eseun, testified that at least three officers frequented the Blue House, and that she had sex with a fourth officer in a private room. A Blue House victim, who was only 16 when she was forced into prostitution, testified that a police officer once threatened to arrest her if she didn't obey Cha's orders.

Finally, one police officer, David Manila, testified that he had sex with a Blue House employee after paying for a ladies drink. An internal investigation by the police department later determined that Manila was "abetting prostitution," but the officer was allowed to keep his job.

Despite the allegations, no officers have been fired, arrested or prosecuted for any connections to the Blue House brothel.

The Pacific Daily News has published several front-page stories about the Blue House case in recent weeks, but police and the Office of the U.S. Attorney have declined to comment extensively on the case. The police statement issued today breaks that silence.

"It was Tumon/Tamuning Precinct officers who took the initial complaint and made the arrests in this case, with Captain Kim Santos team of detectives continuing their investigation, gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses," Balajadia said. "This conviction was the result of hours spent investigating this case by the Guam Police Department. I'd like to thank the media for their patience in allowing the process to move forward until the Guam Police Department was able to make a public statement on this issue."

The statement adds that Police Chief Fred Bordallo is currently off island attending a law enforcement seminar but that he applauds the sentencing in the Cha case.

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UPDATE - GPD: No "cover-up" in Blue House case

The Guam Police Department has released a statement insisting there was no cover-up of police officers allegedly involved in the Blue House brothel.In the statement, police spokesman Officer A.J.